Device in loop form having sides with relatively swivelable pivotable and slidable members

ABSTRACT

A device for use by nervous or hyperactive persons for reducing nervousness as a result of manipulation thereof, said device including a plurality of sides joined together to form a closed loop, each of the sides comprising at least two members longitudinally and pivotally moveable relative to each other and each of the members having a hinge part swiveled thereto and pivotally joined to a swiveled hinge part of a member of an adjacent side.

United States Patent [191 Gilfillan [76] Inventor:

[ DEVICE IN LOOP FORM HAVING SIDES WITH RELATIVELY SWIVELABLE PIVOTABLE AND SLIDABLE MEMBERS Michael Gilfillan, 619 Robinwoocl' Ln., Hopkins, Minn. 55343 [22] Filed: May 14, 1973 [2]] App]; No.: 360,401

[52] US. Cl... 46/1 R, 59/78, 63/10,

[51] Int. Cl A63h 33/00 [58] Field of Search 63/9, 10; 46/1 R; 59/78, 59/80, 95; 273/155 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,287,397 12/1918 Morse 46/1 R 1,327,925 1/1920 Schneider 59/78 UX 2,576,439 11/1951 Beck et al. 46/1 R June 11, 1974 2,751,634 6/1956 Washington 3,436,907 4/1969 Behar 63/10 X 3,514,893 6/1970 Paksy 46/1 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 7 535,765 3/1955 Belgium 46/1 R Primary Examiner-F. Barry Shay 57] ABSTRACT ,A device for use by nervous or hyperactive persons for reducing nervousness as a result of manipulation thereof, said device including :a plurality of sides joined together to form a closed loop, each of the sides comprising at least two members longitudinally and pivotally moveable relative to each other and each of the members having a hinge part swiveled thereto and pivotally joined to a swiveled hinge part of a member of an adjacent side.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures I DEVICE IN LOOP FORM HAVING SIDES WITH RELATIVELY SWIVELABLE PIVOTABLE AND SLIDABLE MEMBERS BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a novelty device and more specifically, to a device intended for use by a nervous or hyperactive person to reduce tension or nervousness in that person.

There aremany people who, when seated at a desk or disposed in some other relatively inactive position, become nervous and fidgety as a result of their inactivity. Often, these people, when in such a position, pick up a nearby object such as a paper clip, ball point pen or other object and begin to manipulate that object. For example, many people will pick up a paper clip and bend it into anyone of a variety of shapes making sure that each portion of the bent clip is perfectly aligned or symmetrical with another portion. Other people may pick up a ball point pen and begin to disassemble it, continually extend and retract its point or position the clip of the pen so that it is aligned with some other portion thereof. The reason that objects such as pens and paper clips are used is because of their convenience and the absence of other objects.

The ability to manipulate and handle objects while in I a relatively inactive position is important to each of the persons of the type discussed above in that it relieves his tension and nervousness to a certain extent. It should be noted that the effectiveness of such objects as tension reducers is related to the number of different positions and movements which the object is capable of. Generally the greater the number of movements, the greater the effectiveness. It should further be noted that even though such objects should be capable of a variety of movements, they should be relatively simple structurally. Consequently, there is a real need for an object or a device which is relatively simple structurally, but which is capable of manipulation into a variety of shapes and positions for use by nervous or hyperactive persons.

The present invention provides such an object which is relatively simple structurally but which can also be manipulated into a great many shapes and positions. More specifically, the present invention includes a plurality of members which serve as the sides of the object. Each of the sides comprises a pair of members moveable longitudinally and pivotally with respect to each other. Each side is further connected at its ends to an adjacent side by a swivel hinge which permits pivotal or swivel movement with respect to such hinge and which provides for pivotal movement between adjacent sides. With this arrangement, a great many movements of the object can be accomplished.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device which may be used by nervous or hyperactive people to reduce tension and nervousness.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a relativelysimple device structurally which is capable of a great varietyof movements and positions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novelty device which can be manipulated by people who find such activity necessary when they are sitting or disposed in a relatively inactive position.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the description of 2 the preferred embodiment, thedrawings and the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference first to FIG. 1, the device of the present invention includes four sides indicated generally by reference letters A, B, C, and D. Because each of the sides A-D is identical in structure, corresponding elements of each of the sides will bear the same numeral, with a lower case letter identifying the particular side with which that element is associated. For example, elements 11a, 11b, 11c and 11d will be corresponding elements of each of the sides A, B, C and D. Referring also to FIG. 2 which is a perspective view of one of the sides of the device of the present invention, it can be seen that each of the sides A-D includes a pair of side members 11 and 12, each being a relatively rectangular solid having a width approximately one-half the dimension of its length and having a thickness approximately one-third the dimension of its width. Each of the side members 11 and 12 includes anelongated opening 14 positioned approximately in the center thereof with the opening 14 being elongated in the longitudinal direction of the members 11, 12. Extending through ,the elongated opening 14 of each pair of side members 1 l, 12 is a connecting means 15 joining the pair of members together. In the preferred embodiment, the connecting means 15 is a conventional screw having a threaded portion to which a nut 16 is threadedly secured. As is evident from each of the figures, the connecting means 15 is such that it allows relative movement between the side members 11 and 12. For example, pivotal movement of the member 11 relative to the member 12 is permitted about the screw 15 and sliding movement between the members 11 and 12 occurs to the extent permitted by the elongated openings 14.

As illustrated, each of the side members 11(a-d) is connected at one end to a female swivel hinge l8, and each of the side members 12(a-d) is connected at one end to a male swivel hinge 19. As shown in FIG. 4, the hinges 18 and 19 are connected with the members 11 and 12, respectively by a pin member 20 integrally formed with each of the hinges l8 and 19 and extending into the end of the members 1.1 and 12. The pins 20 extend through the members 11 and 12 to, the opening 14 wherethe pins 20 are flanged at their end and retained by such flanging. With this arrangement, the hinges I8 and 19 are freely rotatable relative to the members 11 and 12 with which they are connected, about the axis of the pin 20.

Each of the female swivel hinges 18 of the sides A-D is adapted for pivotal engagement with a corresponding male swivel hinge 19 of an adjacent sideA-D to form a closed loop. For example, the female swivel hinge 18a is pivotally connected with the male swivel hinge 19b.

Similarly, hinge 18b is connected with 190, 180 with 19d, and 18d with 19a. The connection between the corresponding hinges 18 and 19 is accomplished in a conventional manner by use of a pin 21 extending through each of the hinges 18 and 19. With this arrangement, the corresponding hinges l8 and 19 are pivotable with respect to each other about the pin 21 and thus the sides AD, to which such hinges are connected, are likewise pivotable with respect to each other about the pin 21.

As further illustrated in FIG. 4, the connecting means which extends through each pair of members 11-12 includes a flanged end portion 22 which allows limited threaded movement of the nut 16 along the member 15 but retains the nut 16 between the flanged portion and the member 12. The allowance of this relative movement of the nut 16 gives the device of the present invention an additional dimension of movement in that if each of the nuts 16 is fully loosened, the device is much more flexible and loose, whereas if each of the nuts 16 is tightened to a point where it is relatively snug, the movement of the device is much more restricted. It should be noted that the length of the member 15 is sufficient to allow for this limited movement of the nut 16.

I-Iaving now described the structure of the device of the present invention in detail, a few of the many movements and positions of the device will be described. First of all, with reference to FIG. 1, each of the side members 11 (a-d) may be slideably moved relative to its corresponding side member 12 (a-d). Thus, the device illustrated in FIG. 1 can be expanded by such movement toa size which would be limited by the length of the elongated openings 14 (a-d). When in this expanded position, limited relative pivotal movement between the adjacent sides of the device above the pin 21 joining such sides is permitted. For example, when the device illustrated in FIG. 1 is in an expanded position, the sides A and B can be pivoted relative to each other such that the angle formed therebetween is substantially less than 90 degrees. With this movement, of course, the sides C and D would likewise be pivoted relative to each other. In this position, the angle between the sides C and B and the sides D and A would be substantially greater than 90 degrees. Similarly, the device may be arranged so that the angle between the sides B and C and between the sides A and D is substantially less than 90 degrees and so that the angle between the sides A and B and the sides C and D is substantially greater than 90 degrees.

Additionally, each of the side members 11 (a-d) can be pivoted relative to its corresponding side member 12 (a-d) about the corresponding connecting member 15 (a-d). With this permitted movement, the U-shaped portion of the device consisting of the members 11a, 11b, 12b and 120 can be pivoted about the screws 15a and 150 relative to the U-shaped portion of the device consisting of the members 11c, 11d, 12a and 12a. Similarly, the U-shaped portion of the device consisting of the side members 11a, 11d, 12a and 12b can be pivoted about the screws 15d and 15b relative to the U- shaped portion of the device consisting of the side members 11b, 11c, 12c, and 12b.

Further, because the connection between the hinges l8 and 19 and their corresponding side members 11 and 12 provides for swivel movement, the members 11 and 12 are rotatable about the pin members 20 (FIG. 4) connecting the swivel hinges 18 and 19 to the members 11 and 12. As illustrated the pin members 20 serve as an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the members 11 and 12. This movement enables the device of the present invention to be arranged in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3 with each of the members 11 and 12 rotated ninety degrees relative to the swivel hinges l8 and 19 and each extended longitudinally relative to each other. Thus, each pair of side members 11 and 12 can actually be turned inside out or inverted. When the device is in the position illustrated in FIG. 3, a variety of limited movements can, of course, be accomplished such as relative movement between the members 11 and 12 of each side, the rotation of each of the members 11 and 12 relative to its respective swivel hinges 18 and 19 and the pivotal movement of each swivel hinge 18 relative to its corresponding male swivel hinge 19.

Finally, as discussed above, each of the connecting means 15(a-d) includes a threaded member adapted for engagement by a conventional nut 16(a-d). Further, each of the members 15(a-d) is sufficiently long to permit limited threaded movement of the nut 16 along the threaded portion of the member 15 and each of the members 15 includes a flanged portion at its end to prevent the nut from being removed from the member 15. With this movement, the nuts may be tightened to restrict the movement of the device, or they may be loosened to their fullest extent to provide a relatively loose connection between each of the members 11 and 12 and thereby give much greater flexibility and movement to the device.

Consequently, it can be seen that the device which has been described in the preferred embodiment is capable of a great many movements and is capable of being disposed in a great variety of arrangements. This type of device is relatively simple in construction and enables the nervous or hyperactive person to release some of his tensions and nervousness by manipulating the device of the present invention, especially when he is seated or in a relatively inactive position.

Although the description of the preferred embodiment of the present device has been quite specific, it is contemplated that various modifications could be made to the device illustrated without deviating from the spirit of the present invention. Consequently, it is intended that the scope of the present application be limited by the appended claims rather than by the description of the preferred embodiment.

I claim: 1. A device intended for use by nervous persons for reducing nervousness as a result of manual manipulation thereof comprising:

at least three sides each having a pair of side members, pair connecting means connecting said pairs end to end to form a closed loop, each of said side members having an elongated opening therein;

side member connecting means extending through said elongated openings of each pair of side members for connecting the side members of each pair together side by' side, said side member connecting means being such as to allow pivotal movement and limited sliding movement between the side members of each pair; and

said pair connecting means including hinge means connected with each of said side members and with another said hinge means for connecting said pairs of side members end to end to form said closed loop, said hinge means being such as to permit free rotational movement between the respective hinge means and side member and pivotal movement between adjacent pairs of side members.

2. The device of claim 1 having four sides.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said side member connecting means is an externally threaded member having an internally threaded member adapted for engagement therewith for retaining the side members of each pair in a connected relationship.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein one end of said externally threaded member is flanged to prevent removal of said internally threaded member therefrom.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said externally member. 

1. A device intended for use by nervous persons for reducing nervousness as a result of manual manipulation thereof comprising: at least three sides each having a pair of side members, pair connecting means connecting said pairs end to end to form a closed loop, each of said side members having an elongated opening therein; side member connecting means extending through said elongated openings of each pair of side members for connecting the side members of each pair together side by side, said side member connecting means being such as to allow pivotal movement and limited sliding movement between the side members of each pair; and said pair connecting means including hinge means connected with each of said side members and with another said hinge means for connecting said pairs of side members end to end to form said closed loop, said hinge means being such as to permit free rotational movement between the respective hinge means and side member and pivotal movement between adjacent pairs of side members.
 2. The device of claim 1 having four sides.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein said side member connecting means is an externally threaded member having an internally threaded member adapted for engagement therewith for retaining the side members of each pair in a connected relationship.
 4. The device of claim 3 wherein one end of said externally threaded member is flanged to prevent removal of said internally threaded member therefrom.
 5. The device of claim 4 wherein said externally threaded member is sufficiently long to allow limited threaded movement of said internally threaded member therealong.
 6. The device of claim 5 having four sides.
 7. The device of claim 1 wherein each of said hinge means is a swivel hinge connected to its respective side member for rotational movement relative to an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of its side member pair and adapted for pivotal movement relative to the swivel hinge of a side member of the adjacent pair about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinAl axis of its side member. 